Combination sight and indicator for traffic control projectors



Exam AU 233 EX June 29, 1937. wt. HARDING COIBIIAIION S1681: ANDINDICATOR FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROJECTORS F1104 Jan. 7, 1936 2Sheet-Sheet l INVENTOR 1 N T74R0/A/e 4 ORA/EX)" 177-40.!

Examine June 29, 1937. w. 'r. HARDING COIBINATIOH SIGHT AND IRDICATORFOR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROJECTORS Filed Jan. 7, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR M14504 //4Q0//v6 EXamir Patented June 29, 1937 COMBINATION SIGHTAND INDICATOR FOR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROJECTOBS Wilbur T. Harding, Dayton,Ohio Application January 7, 1936, Serial No. 57,926

7 Claims. (Cl. 177-329) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described hereinmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmentalpurposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

Within the front end of the case is a removable glass-retaining ringassembly consisting of the glass retaining ring l2, glass-seating ringl3, clamping ring I, glass or lens i5, and packing l6.

completely assembled device is conveniently Thisinvention relates toimprovementsin traf- The glass and packing are releasably confined 5 flccontrol devices of the type projecting signal between the sealing ringand the clamping ring light beams of different colors and the objects ofwhich are secured to the retaining ring by rethe improvements are:movable fasteners H. A ball I 8 and a compres- Flrst, to provide an airtraflic control device sion spring l9 are so mounted and arranged on 10designed for use either during the day or night in the top of the casethat the ball yieldably engages 10 transmitting to a selected airplanesuch visual and interlocks with the top portion of the retainsignals asare necessary to direct traflic into and ing ring l2, through an openingin the top of the out of an airdrome; second, to provide an air case,and thus tends to hold the retaining ring in traffic control devicedesigned for ground use and place. A more positive ring-holding deviceor including a signal projector having two handle catch is provided forthe bottom portion of the 15 assemblies for directing the beam andcontrolling retaining ring and consists of a flat spring the signal;third, to provide an air traflic control anchored at one end between theframe I0 and signal projector having a sighting arrangement the clamp 2|and having at its free end a button which gives a positive check of thecolor of signal 22 extending upwardly through an opening in the 20 atthe point where it may be observed when sightframe l0 and engaging in anopening in the bot- 20 ing the projector; and fourth, to provide ageneral tom portion of the retaining ring. The glass-reassembly of partsso constructed and arranged as taining ring assembly is removable as aunit from to facilitate inspection and maintenance. the case by pushingdown on the spring button These objects are attained by the constructionwith the thumb to release the catch and then illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wheresliding the retaining ring out of the case.25

in: The control mechanism consists of a lamp sock- Fi ure 1 is a sid viw f th en al ass mbly et assembly, a pistol grip assembly, and a colorwith certain parts in elevation and others in seccontrol assembly,supported on and carried by tion. the main frame tn; the latter being ofchannel Figure 2 is an end view of the device, partly in section anddetachably fastened to the channel 30 evati n and p t y in s n strips 9and 9', in inverted position therebetween,

Fi 4 and 5 are top, front and side deby four forwardly located shortscrews 23 and tail views of the front sight-and-indicator asnuts 23' andtwo rearwardlylocatedlonger screws sembly. 24 and nuts 24'. The longerscrews 24 extend Fi ure 6 is a top p a w o t e s nal control through thepistol grip 25 and, together with the 35 mechanism. socket stem nut 26,constitute the means where- I Figure 7 is a detail view of the filtercarriages. by the pistol grip assembly is fastened to the In thedrawings, l indicates the traffic conchannel frame In. rol lamp case fthe Projector, Whose Optical y The lamp socket assembly consists of aholder tem consis of a spot-light l p 2 located at the 21 for the lampsocket 28, a stem 29 for support- 40 focus of a parabolic reflector 3. Aspherical miring the holder, and the socket stem nut 26. The ror l isplaced in front of the lamp to eliminate bottom end of the holder seatson a shoulder near direct light from the lamp and to increase the theupper end of the stem to which it is rigidly beam intensity. Reflector 3is retained in place fastened by suitable means, such as a screw 30 bysuitable front clamps 5 and by the back packand it is formed with anupwardly extending arm 45 ing 5 which serves to space the reflector fromthe 21' to which is attached the spherical mirror l. back I of the case.The bottom of the case has The stem is mounted on the frame ID with itsan open slot 8 extending centrally and longitudilower end disposedthrough an opening in the nally thereof and depending from the outerunframe and screw threaded to receive the nut 26.

derside of the case and on opposite sides of the A bearing-shoulder 3|is formed on the stem, in- 50 slot are strips 9 and 9 defining a channelfor the wardly of the nut-bearing end thereof, for abutreception of themain frame I 0 of the control ment with the top side of the frame.mechanism hereinafter fully described. The The pistol grip assemblyincludes the pistol channel-forming strips 9 and 9' are secured to gripor rear handle 25 by means of which the the case by suitable fastenersll. 55

- as shown in Figure 1.

gripped and held in one hand when directing the beam. The rear pistolgrip handle is located at the rear end of the main frame 10 with itsupper end disposed between the depending side flanges 10a and lllb ofthe frame to which it is fastened, as previously explained, by the longscrews 24 and nuts 24'. The pistol grip handle is substantially hollow,being recessed to receive and to house the trigger and trigger switchassembly which, as a unit, consists of the plate or frame 32 and thevarious elements mounted thereupon, such as the trigger 33, triggerframe 34 with contact point 35, trigger frame tensioning spring 36,contact spring 31 with contact point 38, contact stop 39, connectingmale type plug 40, insulated leads 4| and 4| from the connecting plug tothe contact spring and lamp socket respectively, and a holder 42 for theinsulated lead or wire 4|. An opening is provided in the upper end ofthe pistol grip, forwardly of the trigger housing, to receive the lowerend of the socket stem 29, the nut 26 of which seats in a recess 43 inthe underside of the pistol grip. When the nut 26 is screwed tightlyagainst the pistol grip the latter is thereby clamped firmly to theframe ill. The stem may be keyed to the pistol grip and therebyprevented from turning relatively to the frame.

The color control assembly includes a narrow, substantially elongated,ball-housing block 44 disposed upon the upper face of the main frame lforwardy of the lamp socket assembly but set back from the front end ofthe frame to provide sufficient space for the retaining ring assembly.On its upper side the block 44 is cut out to provide ball housings 45and 45' located fore-and-aft respectively of a recess 46 in which isseated for rotation an operating disk 41. Disk 41 is fixed, by nut 48,washer 49, and key 50, to the upper end of a drive shaft which extendsthrough a tubular stem 52 on the underside of the block, which stem isinserted through an opening in the main frame I0 to be received in thecentral opening or socket in the clamping block 2| to which theballhousing block 44 is secured by screws 53 and 53' The foremost screw53 also extends through an opening in the spring 20 of the front ringcatch assembly and then serves to anchor the said spring in place.Suitably fixed to the lower depending portion of the drive shaft 5| isthe color control handle 54 by means of which the drive shaft and theoperating disk are turned about an axis.

Disk 41 is provided with diametrically opposed elongated arcuate slots55 and 55 Fig. 6 in which are disposed the downwardly bent forward endsof drive rods 56 and 56' respectively. These drive rods have downwardlybent rearward ends inserted in tubular sockets 51 and 51' formed at thefree ends of lever arms 58 and 58, the latter being integral parts,respectively, of the color filter carriages 59 and 59'. These carriages,shown in detail in Figure 7, are rotatably supported on the socket stem29 between the bottom end of the holder 21 and the bearing shoulder 3|of the socket stem. Carriage 59 includes an arm 60 to the upper end ofwhich is attached a red filter 6|. Similarly, the carriage 59' includesan arm 60' to the upper end of which is attached a green filter 6|.TI'h'e normal position of the parts of the color contgl assembly is suchas to produce a white bea That is, the color filters are disposed onopposite sides of the lamp 2 and out of the direct path of the lightfrom the lamp to the parabolic reflector, with the downwardly bentforward ends of the carriage drive rods at the forward extremities ofthe disk slots 55 and 55. The carriages are moved separately andindependently of one another and are restored after each operation totheir normal position by springs 62 and 62'. Carriage restoring spring52 is attached at one end to the downwardly bent rearward end of thecarriage drive rod 56 and has its other end secured to thespring-anchoring side lug 63 of the ball housing block 44. Similarly,the carriage restoring spring 62 is attached at one end to thedownwardly bent end of the carriage drive rod 56 and has its other endsecured to the side lug 63 of the ball-housing block.

As will be apparent from Figure 6, when the operating disk 41 is rotatedin a clockwise direction, the drive rod 56' being against the trailingedge of the slot 55' is moved inwardly to turn the carriage 59' and thegreen filter 6| to the position indicated in dotted lines; the redfilter carriage and its drive rod remaining stationary since the slot 55moves freely by the forward end of the drive rod 56, due to the latterbeing normally at the leading edge of the slot. When the disk 41 isrotated in a counterclockwise direction from normal position, the redfilter carriage is moved, while the green filter carriage remainsstationary. Hence, rotating the handle 90 one way will cause a greenfilter to be placed between the lamp and the parabolic reflectorchanging the beam to green. Rotating the handle 90 (from normal) theother way will interpose a red filter and change the signal to red. Thecolor filter carriages in their normal position rest against thecarriage stop 64 which is fastened, by screw 30 and also screws 65, tothe front side of the holder 21. Positive stops are provided, also, forholding the filter control in the desired position. These consist offour cavities or recesses 66 in the peripheral edge of disk 41 andspaced 90 apart, together with a pair of balls 61 and 6'! located withinthe ball housings 45 and 45' respectively and thrust against the edge ofthe disk for engaging in the said cavities 66 by the force of theirrespective springs 68 and 68'.

To remove the control assembly as a unit, from the case it is onlynecessary to remove the screws shown along the channel frame in Figures1 and 2 and then-holding the rear pistol grip firmly in the right handand the case in the left arm push the pistol grip forward until thecomplete assembly slides out. For inspection of the trigger from 32 andits component parts, subsequent to the removal of the control assemblyfrom the case, the socket stem nut 26 is unscrewed from the stem 29 torelease the pistol grip 25 which is then withdrawn carefully from itsenclosing position about the trigger assembly so that the leads to thelamp socket may not be broken or damaged. All parts of the triggerassembly are then exposed and readily accessible.

The projector is provided with front and rear sights 69 and 69' on thetop of the case I for sighting the beam. At night, due to reflection bydust particles in the air, the color of signaling used can be readilyidentified. During the day, the color must be checked by other means andfor this purpose the present invention includes a novel sightingarrangement in which the front sight 69 is provided with a clear jeweland angle reflector H arranged so that a portion of the main beam isdirected toward the operator. To this end, the front sight consists of asubstantially short and solid barrel-like body or cylinder having alongitudinally extending flat faced base or mounting plate 12 on oneside thereof and arched in conformity with the cylindrical surface ofthe case I, to the top of which it is attached by suitable means, suchas screws 13. The sight is disposed adjacent the front or lens-mountingend of the case in the manner illustrated in Figure 1 and is provided atits front end with a vertical sight-post 14 having a circular orifice 15and a pointed sighting bead 16; the orifice 15 being aligned with thepeep hole 15' of the rear sight and the bead 16 being aligned withV-notch 16 thereof. Thus, two types of sight are provided. At its rearend, the sight barrel is recessed to provide a reflector chamber 11opening rearwardly and axially of the barrel through an orifice 18 anddownwardly and outwardly of the barrel between spaced flanking lugs19-19', the latter depending within the case through a substantiallyrectangular opening in the top thereof. The orifice 18 is closed at itsouter end by a trans- 20 parent member, such as the clear glass jewel10, fitted to the orifice in the manner disclosed, and the wall 11' ofthe reflector chamber 11 is inclined toward the jeweled orifice at anangle of 45 degrees with respect to the axis of the sight body.

The inclined chamber wall 11' provides a rest or support for the upperhalf of the right-angle chromium-plated reflector 1|, the latter beingfixedly secured to the wall by suitable fastening means, such as a screw18, and having its lower half angularly disposed between the flankinglugs 19-19 so as to be in the path of and to intercept, a small portionof the light rays reflected parallel to the axis of the case from theparabolic reflector 3. The intercepted rays are doubled-reflected 180degrees by the reflector 1|, so as to illuminate the clear jewel 10 withthe same color light as is being transmitted as a signal. One ray isindicated in Figure 1 at R and R to illustrate the double-reflectionwhereby positive indication of color signal is obtained. This indicationis essential for. daytime use especially as the operator must accuratelytrain the projector by use of the sights and as his view is restrictedto the sights and the objective, the color signal indication must bepositive and visible without change in view. This sighting arrangementhas the following advantages: first, it provides the operator with apositive indication that a signal is being transmitted; second, itprovides a positive indication of color signal being transmitted; third,it provides the foregoing indications without interfering with thesighting of the projector; and, fourth, it facilitates the transmissionof a signal as all doubt regarding color or operation is removed.

Electrical current for operation of the device may be supplied from astorage battery by suitable cable connections between the battery andthe device or it may be obtained directly from commercial lightingsources. For the latter purpose a transformer 80 is used which willallow operations from commercial lighting sources of alternating currentat frequencies from 25 to 60. The transformer has a long secondary leadBI and a short primary lead 82, the former being provided with a plug 83for attachment to the plug of the trigger assembly and the latter havingan attachment plug 84 for connection with a commercial lighting source.When connected to 115 volts alternating current, commercial frequency,the transformer will operate the lamp at seven volts.

In the operation of the traffic control device, the operator points theprojector in the direction of the selected airplane, which may be eitheron the ground or in the air, and signals the pilot thereof by closingthe trigger switch, the color filters being properly positionedaccording to whether the given signal is red, green, or clear. Theinformation conveyed by the projected signals is of course dependentupon the meaning of the signals in accordance with a commoninterpretation thereof. For the purposes of the present invention themeaning of the signals will be understood to be as follows: To pilots inair, red indicates "Stay away; clear indicates Landing optional withcaution and green indicates Land--To pilots on the ground, red indicatesRemain in place; clear indicates "Remain in place; and green indicatesTake off or Taxi in.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a simple,manually operated and controlled, signal projector for ground use indirecting and controlling air tramc into and out of an airdrome. Thedevice is designed for use either during the day or at night.

I claim:

1. A portable signalling device comprising the combination of an opaquehousing optically opened at one end, intelligence-communicating meanswithin said housing and operable for communicating intelligence throughthe optically opened end of the housing to a receiving station, sightingmeans externally of the housing for lining up the device with thereceiving station, and reflector means between theintelligence-communicating means and the sighting means optically activeduring the operation of the device for displaying at the sighting meansa functional characteristic of the intelligence-communicating meanswhereby the operation of the latter can be observed by the operatorwhile the eye is focused on the sighting means.

2. In a trailic control signal projector, sighting means on theprojector for training the projector on an objective and indicatingmeans on the projector for indicating whether or not a signal is beingtransmitted, said sighting means and said indicating means beingarranged and combined in the line of sight to be viewed simultaneouslyfor the performance of both functions while the eye is focused on thesighting means.

3. A trafic control signal light projector including a housing having asource of light and focusing means therein, a sighting device mounted onsaid housing and having a colorless transparent member, and means forintercepting and I reflecting part of the signal light through thetransparent member to illuminate the latter with the same color light asis being transmitted as a signal, said transparent member being visiblesubstantially along the axis of the sighting device to be viewedsimultaneously with the latter while the eye is focused on the sightingdevice.

4. A traffic control signal light projector including an opaque casingoptically opened at one end, a source of light and light-focusing meanswithin the casing, a sight on the outside ,of the casing, a colorlesstransparent member rearwardly of the sight and in substantially the sameline of vision as the sight so that the said sight and the said membercan be viewed simultaneously whenever the eye is focused on the sight,and reflector means for intercepting a small portion of the rays oflight emanating from said source of light and reflecting same to thesaid member to illuminate the latter.

Examine 5. A traflic control projector for transmitting a beam of lightfor signalling purposes and including an opaque housing optically openedat one end and having an opening in the top there- 5 of, a source oflight within the housing, focusing means for directing the light fromsaid source through the opened end of the housing, a front sight on thetop of said housing having a chamber in communication with the openingin the top of the housing, the said chamber opening rearwardly of thesaid sight, and a reflector fixed in the said chamber and dependingthrough the opening in the top of the housing to intercept a portion ofthe light emanating from said focusing means, saidreflectorhavingangularlydisposed reflector portions for directing the incident lightthrough the chamber opening at the rear of the sight.

6. A combination front sight and indicator for a tramc control projectorcomprising a substantially short and solid opaque body having a sightingpost on one side thereof and a recess leading outwardly of the oppositeside of the body and an axial opening at the inner end of the recess andleading outwardly of one end of the body, a colorless jewel covering theaxial opening of the body, and a reflector secured to the said body witha reflector portion thereof disposed within the recess to illuminate thejewel with light reflected therefrom and a reflector portion extendingoutwardly of the recess and angularly disposed so that incident light isreflected thereby to the other reflector portion.

7. A combination front sight and indicator for a tramc control projectorcomprising a relatively short and substantially barrel-like body havinga longitudinally extending flat-faced mounting plate on the bottom sidethereof and a sighting post extending upwardly from the top side thereofand adjacent the forward end of the body, said body having laterallyspaced lugs depending downwardly below the mounting plate adjacent therear end of the body and a reflector chamber opening downwardly betweenthe said lugs and also outwardly through the said rear end of the body,the forward wall of said chamber being inclined toward the open rear endof the body at an acute angle, a colorless jewel covering the opening inthe rear end of the body, and an angle-reflector having a reflectorportion disposed within said chamber and against and fixedly secured tothe inclined wall thereof and having another reflector portion angularlydisposed between the said depending lugs.

WILBUR T. HARDING.

